Gail plans Rs 800cr E&P capex in two years

 According to a release issued by Gail India to the BSE today, the company has increased its total exploration acreage to 77,800 sq km.

 "Gail India now holds participating interest in 13 exploration blocks with interest varying between 10-80%. The company is also going to acquire stake in the Yadavaran fields in Iran.With these, the company would increase its holdings from 13 blocks to 16-18 blocks in the medium term in the domestic and foreign markets," the release added.

 The company has also got a stake in the A-1 block in Myanmar, and is expected to sign an agreement for the A-3 block in Myanmar in early October 2005, the release said.

 Gail India has been awarded two blocks in the Andaman offshore and Cambay under the New Exploration Licensing Policy-V (NELP-V), and the company recently signed the production sharing contracts with the government.

 "One block - AN-DWN-2003/2 - is a deepwater block located in Andaman offshore area to the east of Nicobar group of islands. The block shares international boundary with Thailand and Indonesia. It covers an area of 13110 sq km, and the water depth in the region varies from 1,600-2,600 meters. The company has 15% participating interest in the block. ENI India and ONGC are the other consortium partners. The exploration activities in the block will be over a period of eight years covering three phases, which includes seismic survey and drilling of seven exploratory wells," the release said.

 The second block - CB-ONN-2003/2 block - is located in Cambay on land basin covering an area of 448 sq km. The company has 20% participating interest in the block. GSPCL, Jubilant and GGR, Canada are the other consortium partners. The exploration activities in the block will be over a period of seven years covering three exploration phases, which includes 3D seismic survey and drilling of 24 exploration wells, the release said.